Galled at the mall

WHEN Milton Cockburn was editor of The Sydney Morning Herald in the 1990s, it would have been a safe bet that he'd have thundered against any ban on politicians campaigning in shopping centres.

WHEN Milton Cockburn was editor of The Sydney Morning Herald in the 1990s, it would have been a safe bet that he'd have thundered against any ban on politicians campaigning in shopping centres.

But now he's director of the Shopping Centre Council, Cockburn wants to keep pollies out of malls so that voters aren't harassed. Apparently Malcolm Turnbull was asked last year to stop pestering Perth shoppers. There has been some common sense from the Retailers Association, whose director Scott Driscoll says: "I know many small business owners within a shopping centre would like to hear more from candidates. So do many mums with kids who just don't have other chances to pose the tough questions to those chasing their vote." The SCC needs to "stop whingeing" and help with "an Australian political tradition", Driscoll says. He could have mentioned that such a ban would mean the end of glorious moments in politics such as Bob Hawke's immortal "silly old bugger" directed at a pensioner in 1990.

Cool new stuff

INNOVATION is one of the beauties of capitalism: not exactly planned obsolescence as popularised by Vance Packard in his 1960 book The Waste Makers, but close. This observation was stimulated by today's expected unveiling of Apple's Tablet, a tiny touch-screen computer that will make your existing phone, laptop and all other mobile electronic gadgets look like something from the steam age. Hence, everyone will have to buy one, much to the benefit of Apple's profit margin.

Statue gets an ear

SO Apple's Tablet will unwittingly add to the mountain of discarded electronic garbage. It reminds Strewth's colleague at The Times, Richard Morrison, of the sculptor who constructed a statue made from the number of electronic goods that an average person throws away in a lifetime. It weighed 3 tonnes, stood more than 2m high, and included five fridges, eight toasters, six microwaves, seven PCs, six TVs, 12 kettles, seven vacuum cleaners and 35 mobile phones. The sculptor couldn't find space for the minimum of three Playstations consumed per child.

Hungry dog surge

THE number of American dogs joining the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan is expected to reach more than 300 in the next few months. It's a dog surge, and an important one because the animals have become essential for detecting explosives and roadside bombs. But there's a shortage of dog food (we're not sure why they can't eat human food). Nick Guidas, the US's K-9 (geddit?) project manager for Afghanistan, says it's "hard to convince people sometimes that it's a priority, but it's a necessity if we are to keep these dogs working". Guidas looks after a kennel full of German shepherds and labradors near Kandahar. Because of the energy-intensive demands of their missions, the dogs require special food and can't just eat scraps. But dog food "doesn't get a higher priority than Coke or potato chips" destined for human consumption.

Workplace relations

A SURVEY of nearly 1000 Australian workers has found one in three has cuddled up with a colleague. Of those admitting to office romance, 35 per cent describe the affair as short term and 31 per cent as long term, according to job website CareerOne (part of News Digital Media, a subsidiary of News Limited, publisher of The Australian). It found more than a third had been "intimate" with a colleague in their workplace. CareerOne editor Kate Southam says while love in the workplace can be fruitful, the chances of things going sour are greater. "If . . . the attraction is instant, test it over time before outing yourselves at work. Sometimes office romances fade, making for awkward situations at work."

The numbers add up

THE Suleman octuplets from California have celebrated their first birthday. Mum Nadya Suleman, who has six older children, thinks her family is starting to outgrow their four-bedroom house.